1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an asynchronous, packet based, dual port link list header and data credit management structure that functions as an interface for data packet transfers across an asynchronous boundary. The subject invention allows high bandwidth data transfers which are packet based as defined by PCI_Express architecture.
The present invention has general utility in processor-based applications like servers, desktop applications, and mobile applications.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Current prior art methods for the transfer of data across an asynchronous boundary involve a bus boundary by using standard asynchronous methods such as using handshaking signals. The prior art generally uses fixed header and data structures, and an application which supports an asynchronous handshake. Such prior art systems implement a fixed data credit protocol without any flexibility to allow an allocation of N integers of Data blocks along with the associated header entries.